Another 50K in the books! And what a weekend it was. Lots of new friends, good times, oh, and a 50K!
I moved from the Villa I was staying at on Thursday and joined all the other athletes getting ready to race. I had WIFI in my room, and meals that consisted of something other than rice and beans! And people I could talk to in English! It was wonderful. I enjoyed my time at the Villa and everyone (except one cafeteria guard) was super nice and friendly and helpful. But it is nice to watch TV and things like that. I missed watching the Olympics! (Thank goodness for DVR, I'm watching them now as I type this)
The weather for the 20K races on Saturday was really brutal, especially for the men. It got really hot and humid and you could see it take it's toll on all the athletes. The clouds came over for the women's race and the conditions were significantly better, but still quite warm. I worked the aid table for the men's 20K and really enjoyed being on that side of things, cheering for friends, and making friends with the other people helping behind the tables.
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| My amazing personal cheering section! They yelled and cheered for me every single lap! |
Thankfully it wasn't slated to get as hot on Sunday. After the men finished and I made sure the guys I knew were okay (some were in bad shape) I went back to the hotel to cool off. I was hot and I didn't even race! I relaxed for a bit and then went to watch some of the women's race. I had been standing in the sun and the heat for quite a while that day, so I didn't watch it all, but I saw enough to get really excited and motivated for my race.
One thing that had me a bit apprehensive was the judges. Obviously my DQ from London was a big frustration for me. And after surgery I worried that it might affect my technique for the negative. I raced three major races since London (Our indoor national 5,000 champs, 30K national champs, and 50K national champs). In all three I didn't get a single paddle or card. But the judges seemed to really be watching everyone closely. There were tons of cards on the board and a number of DQs. So there was part of my brain that was getting nervous. So part of my pre-race prep was spent with my eyes closed and "feeling" my technique in super slow motion. I thought about each part of my step and how I wanted it to feel and how it would feel. And I constantly thought to myself "I walk legal, I have very straight legs."
Funny story (at least to me). There were no bananas at the host hotel! I didn't even think about the possibility of no bananas! And there were no grocery stores nearby. Obviously I don't NEED bananas, but I sure do like them race morning. As I was coming back from the women's 20K, to get back to the hotel you take a pedestrian bridge. As I was coming down the steps there was a police vehicle parked to the right and I could see in the back windows to the back seats. And what did my eyes spy but two bananas!!!!! I hurried into the hotel to find someone who could translate for me. I found one of the really nice Chilean guys and told him, "Will you go out to the cops out there and ask them if I can buy their bananas? I saw them on the back seat." He looked at me like I was a little nuts, but happily obliged. The cops thought I was pretty funny, but were so nice. They told him that they understood there were no stores around, and gave them to me as a gift! How nice! I was literally jumping up and down I was so happy! People are just so darned nice!
I had a nice dinner and then read, stretched, and watched some Olympics. Then I tried to sleep. Some nights before races I have no problems sleeping and others it's not so smooth. I woke up a couple times absolutely overheated and drenched in sweat. I have no idea why. I was just so hot. It was a bit weird. So when I got up in the morning I decided to take a cool shower to see if I could cool myself off, as well as get any salty sweat off my body. Last thing I want is extra chaffing!
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| View of the course |
I walked over, got my aid settled, did a small warm up, and was as ready as I was going to be! My plan/hope was to be around 5:40 per K pace. I thought it was possible to hold that the whole race. However, when I started it just wasn't there. So I went with it and tried to stay positive. I started off in a solid fourth, as in fourth by a pretty big margin. But it's a 50K and I knew a lot could change....
A bit before 20K or so I noticed Mariela Sanchez wasn't gaining on me anymore. And then another lap or so I noticed she started coming back to me. I was keeping my eyes open to see if I was gaining when suddenly I saw her on the sidelines. I was very sad that she DNFed, but I also realized it put me in a podium spot which gave me a positive bust of energy.
Even though I started off not feeling how I hoped to feel, I was still really happy. How could I not be? I was racing a 50K at an IAAF challenge meet! I was smiling and talking with people, which is common for me. And when people see you appreciate them cheering for you they tend to cheer for you more! And during some of the rough patches in the race it was that cheering that really kept me going! By that point, since they had seen me so many times and so many times smiling, when the smile started to falter they knew I was hurting a bit and really cheered to help me out. But I jump ahead.
Around 12K I started feeling better and picked it up a bit. I picked it up to around where I had wanted to be. My second 10K was about 45 seconds faster than my first. So I backed off a bit.
I had sort of noticed for a while that second place didn't seem to be charging at the same speed she had been. So at one point I asked Emmanuel to time what the gap was. Next lap around he told me it was 9 minutes. I said, yeah, but I think I'm gaining on her. And someone at the aid table said, yeah, she's really coming back. Next lap I came around and the gap was down to 7 minutes. It gave me such a burst of excitement and adrenaline. I picked it up and charged after her. I think at one point I said something like "she's mine!" (meaning I can catch her). Quentin, in his usual voice of reason at one point said to me, "You're going to catch her, but there's still a long way to go." It was either at 34 or 36K that he said that. I think I replied to him, "Yeah, but I'm still feeling good." Famous last words, lol....
So the gap went from 9 minutes to 7, to 4:30, 2:20 and then I was ahead of her by around 150 meters the next lap. I did at one point in those last few laps realize that I should calm down and I backed off. Even with the backing off I still caught second that quickly. But the damage, I guess you could say, was done. Because then I started to rig up. Instead of continuing to gain a few minutes a lap on her I started going close to the same pace. By that point I had a good 3-4 minute lead so I wasn't too worried. And first was far enough ahead that I knew I had no chance of catching her. So I went through some mental calculations. I never intended to race this race 100% all out. It was always designed to be a solid workout. So I thought, well, I can charge ahead knowing it will probably cost me in recovery time and delay training. So I kept my eye on third to make sure she wasn't getting a second wind and just focused on finishing strong and solid.
So I learned a lot. You don't have to catch someone in 6-8K when you have about 18K to do it. I think charging like that probably cost me 5-7 minutes overall in my time. Good lesson to learn!
I was really happy with my aid. I drank some water every lap from the race aid station, as well as sponged myself. Because that feeling of being overheated that I had before the race continued during the race. I just smiled to myself and told myself, "boy, it sure is nice how cool it is today!" That seemed to work well.
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| Regina, her three sisters, and the guide at the museum... yes, they give you a guide at the museum! |
During my stay at the Villa I made friends. There was one girl, Regina, who had just started learning to race walk. She was so sweet. She spoke less English than I spoke Spanish, so we would futz though talking. She raced the 2K on Saturday and I was there when she finished. She did so good! Her and her three older sisters came to the race and made a huge banner for me that said "Go Erin, Go!" with hearts and stuff. The first time I saw the sign I almost started crying! They yelled and screamed for me every single lap! I just love how sports, even when you don't speak the same language, can bring people together.
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| Most of the team that trains at the Villa (a few girls are missing, Regina is far left) |
So I got second! How cool is that! And what a big award! I was lucky it fit in my luggage. It made my bag too heavy. Two days after the race (Tuesday) I feel great! I went for a walk today and felt amazing. So I think my recovery will be quick and I can get right back to training and getting ready for China. To have gotten this strong after only two months decent training, with two more months before China I'm feeling really excited for the possibilities.
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| Making new friends! |
